The Importance of Being Idle
by the jingle-jangle morning
Summary: AU. The laziest boy in Konoha, Shikamaru, starts high school, along with his best friends Choji and Ino, annoying Naruto and the mysterious new siblings. He makes new friends and meets someone who’ll kick his lazy butt into shape. ShikaTema InoVarious.
1. The Importance of Being Idle

**A/N. Yippee, another AU high school fic. Apologies if I got any details about the American school system wrong, but I'm British and I've never been to American school. I just think your school system is waaayyy better for this fic. **

**Well, on with the story!**

**1. The Importance Of New Beginnings**

There was nothing wrong with being lazy. In fact, it was quite an admirable trait, really. Oasis even wrote a song about it: The Importance of Being Idle. It was a good song to watch clouds to, which was why Shikamaru Nara was, at this moment in time, lying on his back in a meadow listening to the song on his MP3 player. Above him, the clouds were drifting by slowly, and by his right ear, a bee was buzzing in one of the flowers.

"SHIKAMARU! SHIKKAAAAMAAARUUUUU!!!"

He was jolted from his rather pleasant state of nothingness by an almost ear-splitting yell from his mother. She was leaning out of the kitchen window, shouting into the back garden, where Shikamaru was reclining.

He contemplated pretending not to have heard her, but he was quite sure she must have noticed him almost jump out of his skin at her yell. He had no choice but to get up and go and find out what she wanted. He wished his dad would hurry up and get back from his business trip, so that she could yell at her husband instead. Really, Shikamaru's mother was the most demanding woman he had ever met.

"SHIKAMARU! Don't ignore me you idle, good-for-nothing! Get your butt in here this instance!! I know you can hear me!!"

Shikamaru delayed it as long as possible before dragging himself to his feet, hitting pause on his MP3 and sauntering towards the back door, taking as long as he could.

"Want to say that a bit louder, Mum?" he drawled lazily, "Might be a few people across the border who didn't hear that,"

"Don't be insolent, young man! Now, are you ready for tomorrow?" his mother snapped. Shikamaru looked at her blankly. Tomorrow?

"Your first day of high school, remember!" she shouted, and began sorting out the laundry.

Oh yeah, Shikamaru thought. High school….troublesome.

***

In the morning, Shikamaru got up as late as he could without being late for school. He slipped on his favourite jeans, a cleanish string vest and his battered old trainers. He tied his long brown hair into his trademark high ponytail, and made sure his earrings were in place. This all took about ninety seconds. What was the point in making an effort?

On his way down stairs, he swung his backpack over one shoulder and grabbed a piece of toast as he passed through the kitchen. He kicked his skateboard to the floor, from where it rested against the wall, shouted a quick 'See ya', and banged the door behind him.

High school, huh? Shikamaru thought to himself as he rolled idly down the hills and through the streets of Konoha. He knew he was clever, and could have done so much better in school if he'd tried. It was like that in middle school; Shikamaru could have been top of the class had he put a bit more effort in, but he just drifted along in the middle - neither top nor bottom, doing as little work as he could get away with. Getting into fights wasn't Shikamaru's style, nor was trying to be popular and impress girls. Nah, Shikamaru preferred to just get on with his life so he could spend as much time as he could relaxing or playing the odd game of chess.

"Hey Shika!" he heard his friend Choji call out. Choji joined Shikamaru on the pavement, slowly pedalling his bike. Choji had been Shikamaru's friend since elementary school, and was one of the few people he could actually be bothered with. Choji was strong and beefy, and his brown hair stuck up in a rather alarming way round his head. Although he maintained he was by no means fat, his large body type made him an excellent fighter in several different martial arts.

"Hey Choji," Shikamaru returned his greeting, "High school, eh? I'd just got used to being on vacation,"

"You treat every day like a vacation," Choji scoffed, "Reckon you're gonna work hard this year?"

"Nahh. Reckon you're gonna go on a diet this year?" replied Shikamaru sarcastically.

"Nope," Choji had just finished a large bag of barbeque flavour crisps, and his backpack was bulging not from school supplies, but because of the size of the packed lunch he'd crammed in it.

"Where's Ino? She going to Konoha High too?" Shikamaru asked after the boys' best girl friend from middle school.

"Yeah, she is. Her mum was thinking of sending her to that private all-girls school, but Ino wasn't having any of it. You know what she's like with boys," Choji smirked.

Shikamaru let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'Sasuke'.

"Besides," Choji continued, "Her sister's at Konoha,"

"Speak of the devil," Shikamaru muttered. He had just seen a pink soft top sports car with 'Yamanaka Florists' written on the side, pull round the corner, going at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. In the front seat sat two blond girls, both dressed trendily and wearing a bit too much makeup. From down the road the boys could hear their music -Vengaboys' Boom Boom.

Shikamaru laughed and shook his head, "That girl has no subtlety,"

As they drove past, Ino leaned over and beeped the horn at them and the boys waved at her.

Aside from Ino, Shikamaru wasn't sure who else was starting high school with them. Upon arriving, he reported to the office, like all new students were supposed to. There, he was given his timetable by a stroppy looking woman.

He looked up his name on the list of homeroom form groups, to see who was in his class.

**Form Group: C Rm. 105 Tutor: Jiraiya **

_Akimichi, Choji  
__Haruno, Sakura  
__Nara, Shikamaru  
__Sabuka, Gaara  
__Sabuka, Temari  
__Rock, Lee  
__Uchiha, Sasuke  
__Uzumaki, Naruto  
__Yamanaka, Ino _

He was in the same class as Choji and Ino, that was good. Unfortunately, they'd got both Naruto _and_ Sasuke in their class. He remembered them from middle school and both of them were extremely irritating. Also, Ino's major rival Sakura was in this class, which could be potentially troublesome, especially as both girls were more than a little fond of drama. And a few names he didn't recognise. He hoped those kids wouldn't be too much bother.

With Choji at his side, he wandered through the corridors, passing a couple of faces he recognised, but mainly those he didn't, until he got to room 105. In true Shikamaru style, he was late and all the best seats were gone.

He scanned the room quickly, taking in what he saw. Naruto Uzumaki, a distinctive vision in a bright orange hoodie was waving at him from the back of the room. Shikamaru half-saluted in return, but there was no way he was going to sit anywhere near Naruto. He was hyperactive at best, but normally he was thoroughly annoying. Besides, Naruto seemed to be in conversation with someone dressed in a similar style to himself i.e. absolutely ridiculously. This guy was wearing, seemingly through personal choice, a green, skin-tight jumpsuit. Shikamaru threw up a little in his mouth. He wasn't a fashion expert, but that garment was _nasty. _

That left Sasuke Uchiha, who was listening to his music and staring out the window, deliberately ignoring both Sakura and Ino, who were competing for his attention. Ino waved to Choji and Shikamaru, motioning them to come and sit with her.

Shikamaru trooped to the back of the classroom, following Choji. But there was only one seat left next to Ino, and Choji had already plonked his butt in it.

"Sorry, Shika," Ino and Choji both grinned sheepishly.

"No worries," Shikamaru muttered.

How troublesome. He got stuck in the same form as Uzumaki and Uchiha and there weren't enough seats left to sit with his friends. High school was turning out to be such a drag.

He scanned the room for a free seat.

"Hey Ponytail-Boy!" an unfamiliar voice called out to him, "Why don't you come sit next to me?"

He turned slowly to see who speaking to him. A pretty blonde girl was smiling at him; he didn't know who she was.

He weighed up his options, and decided that, although women were generally troublesome, he could have chosen a worse seat.

"Okay," he replied, and sat down next to her.


	2. The Imortance of First Impressions

**The Importance of First Impressions**

_How troublesome. He got stuck in the same form as Uzumaki and Uchiha and there weren't enough seats left to sit with his friends. High school was turning out to be such a drag. _

"_Hey Ponytail-Boy!" an unfamiliar voice called out to him, "Why don't you come sit next to me?"_

_He turned slowly to see who speaking to him. A pretty blonde girl was smiling at him; he didn't know who she was. _

_He weighed up his options, and decided that, although women were generally troublesome, he could have chosen a worse seat. _

"_Okay," he replied, and sat down next to her. _

"Hey," smiled the blond girl. She was pretty, Shikamaru decided. She had dark blonde hair, and a cute smile. But it was her hairstyle that caught Shikamaru's eye. He himself was a fan of spiky ponytails, and this girl had her hair in four bunches each pointing in a different direction.

She was wearing a light coloured mini-dress with a lacy collar and a red belt. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with what looked like an 'i' on it. She wasn't too skinny either, and Shikamaru didn't really like skinny girls. In fact, he worried about Ino's almost continual dieting. But this girl had curves in all the right place.

"Hey," he replied, trying not to stare at her body. He looked at the floor for a second, when he noticed her feet.

"You only have one sock, you know that, right?" he pointed out, and instantly regretted it. The red haired guy next to her snorted with derisive laughter. The girl laughed too, but not unkindly.

"I know. It's sort of like a fashion statement," she smiled.

"Cool," Shikamaru nodded, feeling like a total idiot. Since when had he thought it was cool to go out with only one sock?

"Just kidding, it's an ankle support. I broke my ankle a few months ago and, well, it still plays up from time to time," she said, "I'm Temari, Temari Sabuka"

"Shikamaru Nara," Shikamaru said, "My friends call me Shika."

He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.

"Nice to meet you, Shika," she replied, shaking his hand, "This is Gaara, my brother," she jerked a thumb behind her at the sulky looking redheaded boy, who was listening to his music. Shikamaru could hear it: heavy rock.

"Hello Gaara-san," he said politely, extending his hand across Temari. Gaara stared at his outstretched hand in disgust.

"Ignore him," said Temari, "He's always like that,"

Secretly, Shikamaru was relieved. That kid looked like trouble.

He'd noticed Temari's

accent, it wasn't from round Konoha.

"Where're you from, Temari-san?" he asked.

"I'm from Suna, out in the desert. We've just moved here, so I don't really know anyone. What about you, are you a Konoha native?"

"Yep, I've lived round here all my life, went to middle school here, so I know most people. I could show you around, if you want?" Shikamaru offered. He hoped he didn't sound too much like he was flirting.

"Thanks, that'd be nice. Are you in any of my classes?" she passed him her timetable. Shikamaru hadn't looked at his yet, he fished it out of his jeans pocket and laid it on the table next to Temari's. It looked very crumpled in comparison.

**Sabuka, Temari Form: C **

**1**. … World History ……………………………Iruka, Room 314

**2**. … Human Biology…………………………Tsunade, Lab. 6

**3**. … Algebra. ……………………..………………Genma, Room 231

**4**. … English (Hon)…………………………….Jiraiya, Room 108

**Lunch**

**5**. … Sport………………………………................Anko, Gym 2

**6**. … Free/ Study hall

**7**. … Health……………………………….............Kakashi, Gym 2

**Nara, Shikamaru Form: C**

**1**. … Sport………………………………............…Gai, Gym 1

**2. **… Human Biology………………………..Tsunade, Lab. 6

**3**. … Calculus (Hon.). ……………………....Asuma, Room 220

**4**. … English (Hon)…………………………….Jiraiya, Room 108

**Lunch**

**5**. … French III………………………………........Shizune, Room 127

**6**. ... Free/ Study hall

**7**. … Health……………………………….............Kakashi, Gym 2

"We have Bio, English and Health together. And study hall," Temari said, "Not bad. Your timetable looks better though. I really hate World History."

"You'd rather have French? I'll swap any day. I don't really go a bundle on Calculus either, but Biology and English'll be alright. Quite good, I reckon, if I've got a friend in my classes," Shikamaru smiled at her.

Then he noticed, on the desk in front of her, she had a small folded fan.

"Is that yours?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm secretly a killer kunoichi with steel needles hidden in my fan," she laughed.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He could tell she was joking but, he didn't want to get on the wrong side of a girl like Temari, especially not if she was armed and dangerous.

"Nah, it's force of habit really. I always carried it when I lived out in the desert. You know, in case I get hot,"

"You already are hot," blurted out Shikamaru without thinking, "……I mean…."

Temari glanced at him sideways. She was blushing, but that was nothing compared to Shikamaru himself, who'd turned a deep crimson colour.

Luckily, at that moment, the door banged open and in marched a middle-aged man with long grey hair. Their tutor, presumably.

"Alright class, settle down," he said, and everybody fell silent and faced the front.

All the while Jiraiya was talking, Gaara was giving Shikamaru a very evil look.

"I suppose I better introduce myself. I am Jiraiya your homeroom tutor. I teach English and I've published a series of popular books, whose title I don't think I shall tell you," Jiraiya said.

"Is that 'cos you write dirty books, sensei?!" called out Naruto. The class sniggered and Jiraiya glared at Naruto and ignored him.

"Now, when I call your name I want you to stand up and tell us all a little bit about yourselves, since you're all new. You start, Choji Akimichi," Jiraiya said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yo, I'm Choji Akimichi. I'm a pretty easy going guy. I like cooking, eating and martial arts," Choji said.

"Thankyou, Choji. Next Haruno, Sakura,"

A girl with bubblegum pink hair stood up.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Sakura. I'm quite chatty and friendly and I love to meet new people. I like shopping, of course, but also sports, especially karate. I'm quite opinionated and I tend to speak my mind. Also, I -"

"Thank you Sakura," Jiraiya said, sounding bored,

"Wait! I hadn't finished," Sakura said huffily. Shikamaru saw Ino grin smugly at her.

"Shikamaru Nara," Jiraiya said.

Shikamaru got to his feet as slowly as possible.

"Shikamaru Nara," he said. He raised his hand in a half-hearted attempt at greeting. Then he started to sit back down again.

"Aren't you going to tell us anything about yourself, Shikamaru?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, "I like shogi, I guess,"

"I suppose that'll do. Gaara Sabuka," Jiraiya said

"I am Gaara Sabuka. I have a purpose. I don't like it when people annoy me." When he said the last bit, Gaara glared directly at Shikamaru. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. It looked like he'd made an enemy, what a drag.

"Best not get on the wrong side of him, then," Jiraiya chuckled, "Temari Sabuka?"

"Hello, I'm Temari. I'm Gaara's sister, and we've just moved here from Suna, in the desert. Konoha seems like a nice enough place,"

"Glad we've made a good impression on you," said Jiraiya, "Rock Lee,"

"I am Lee! I believe in the power of hard work, and I respect other people," the guy in the green jumpsuit said.

"Great," Jiraiya said, "Sasuke Uchiha,"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I have ambitions," Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Okay. Hope you achieve them. Naruto Uzumaki,"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and I want to become great, so that everybody will look up to me!" Naruto stood up and punched the air. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I believe ramen can lead to greatness, young man," Jiraiya laughed, "And finally, Ino Yamanaka?"

"Hi there! I'm Ino Yamanaka, of Yamanaka Florist's. I know way more about flowers than is probably normal,"

"I find flowers are often the way to a woman's heart. Well folks, that's about all we have time for. Scoot off to class!" And with that, Jiraiya turned and walked out of the room.

As he was packing away his stuff, Shikamaru turned to Temari.

"Listen, uh…, Temari-san. Sorry about what I said earlier. I hope I didn't offend you," he apologised awkwardly. He couldn't believe he'd blurted out that he thought she was hot, even though it was true.

She raised her eyebrows at him, but did not reply. Instead, she stood up and walked off to her first class without saying a word to him.

Shit. He'd blown it already. That's why women were so troublesome.

*************

Worst. Gym class. Ever. Shikamaru decided.

Uzumaki and Uchiha again, as well as Gaara, who looked ready to punch someone. Shikamaru had an unpleasant suspicion it might be him. There were a fewer other dodgy looking guys, including someone in face paint and a hoodie with cat's ears and a guy whose name he thought was Sai, who was loitering about, looking a little bit too interested in the other boys getting changed.

Shikamaru had just put his stuff down on a bench in the changing rooms, and was about to whip his shirt off, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" he said, turning round. The weird looking boy in purple makeup was glaring at him.

"I want you to stay away from my sister," the boy said coldly, "If you know what's good for you,"

"Sure," said Shikamaru lazily, "Who's your sister?" He had a rather unpleasant feeling that it might be Temari. Great. He'd just offended a hot girl with a certified wacko for a brother.

"Temari. Gaara said you were hitting on her this morning, and that she didn't like it," the other guy snarled

"Chill, I was just being friendly," Shikamaru replied. Although she'd probably be avoiding him.

"Stay away from her!" Makeup Boy growled.

"Why?" asked Shikamaru, "Who are you, anyway?"

The boy's fist curled into a ball and he swung for Shikamaru. Shikamaru dodged out the way and shrugged. What was this guy's problem? He turned his back, not wanting to get involved, but the boy wasn't having any of that. He grabbed Shikamaru by the shoulder and roughly pulled him round to face him.

"Kankuro!" said Gaara, "Stop being a jerk. You don't need to pick a fight."

The boy called Kankuro ignored him, and turned back to Shikamaru.

"I don't want to fight you," said Shikamaru.

"Tough," Kankuro snarled, and punched him again, this time making contact.


	3. The Importance of Putting Your Foot InIt

**AN: Hi! Sorry for not being very quick with the updates, I sort of lost my enthusiasm for this story. **

**Thanks to Bri Nara and mwto for your reviews ****J**

**And so that I don't get sued: I own nothing but the plot (which to be honest, isn't worth stealing). **

**__________________________________________________________________**

**The Importance of Putting Your Foot In It.**

What a drag. The fight was over pretty much before it began, but that didn't stop Kankurou from landing a fist on Shikamaru's face. He ran his fingers over it; how troublesome, it was probably going to bruise.

Without argument, though, it'd been Kankurou who'd come off the worse. Caught off guard by Shikamaru's left hook and completely flattened by his brother, Gaara, he lay on the floor groaning.

"Please don't kill me, Gaara. Please don't kill me,"

Shikamaru wasn't entirely sure if this was a joke, or if Gaara was actually likely to murder his own brother in cold blood on the first day of high school. A glance at Gaara's face told him he probably would.

In all, the gym class was awful. It was taught by Gai, the crazy-looking sensei who seemed to have taken fashion tips from Lee. Or perhaps it was the other way round, given the adoring look Lee was giving the older man as he followed him round the gymnasium. Shikamaru idly wondered if teacher-student relationships were actually legal, or if that only happened in the yaoi Ino forced him to watch sometimes.

To make matters worse, the stupid, skin-tight jumpsuit-wearing idiot tried to make them do laps. Shikamaru decided not to listen to anything Gai said, due to his disgust at the teacher's outfit.

And besides, he hated jogging. What was the point, when you could get there by walking, without getting out of breath, or exerting any more effort than was actually necessary. Sure, you'd be a few minutes later, but really, was anything so important that you had to hurry to get there? No.

So he strolled along, thinking about his position in the world. As far as he was concerned, this morning's events had proved to him that his views on the opposite sex where, in fact, correct. If on the very rare occasion a woman turned out not to be troublesome, then she'd probably have a murderer, mentalist or other delusional psychopath for a brother.

Case in point, Temari. She was fortunate enough to have two brothers who shared those roles, and Kankurou at least would probably try and put a knife in him if he ever so much as spoke to Temari again.

Really, it wasn't worth it. Yeah, she was pretty, seemingly normal and, dare he say it, even quite nice. But he was certain she would hate him forever.

Why did he have to put his stupid foot in his stupid mouth? He should have listened to Ino when she was forever telling him to talk to girls. He'd ignored her, because he couldn't be bothered of course, but if he'd done as she told him to, then he would know what to say when he actually wanted to impress a girl. Instead of making a fool of himself.

"Shikamaru! Why aren't you running?" Gai-sensei yelled, far too loudly. Shikamaru sighed, and jogged for a few seconds before slowing down to a walk again.

_____________________________________________________________________

****TEMARI POV****

Temari was feeling a little confused. She'd been stupid, that much was obvious.

Shikamaru Nara had looked like such a nice boy. When he came into the classroom that morning, Temari had felt sure that the two of them would get on.

She had arrived early, with her brothers Gaara and Kankuro. Kankuro was in a different class to her, but maybe she would have lessons with him later on. When they'd (finally) found their class room, after Gaara had got them lost and sworn at the receptionist, Temari had chosen seats in the front row.

While Gaara had sat sulkily with his feet on the table, Temari had watched each member of the class come in. She was very perceptive and tended to trust her first impressions.

For example, when she saw Naruto Uzumaki, she didn't think he was as stupid or annoying as people made him out to be. Same with the two girls who kept giving each other smug glances - Ino and Sakura, was it? - they probably weren't as different as they thought.

But she'd liked the look of Shikamaru as soon as he came in. He looked cool and unruffled, as if nothing could faze him. The way he strolled across the room was definitely lazy but from his grubby trainers and worn-out old jeans, she could see he was probably more genuine than some of the other boys, and unpretentious. He wasn't trying to impress anyone, he was just being himself.

Temari liked that, but it turned out he was just as bad as all the other teenage boys she knew. Well, she only knew two, really: her brothers. Gaara, a mentalist, and Kankuro: a borderline mentalist and closet pervert. From what she could tell, all normal teenage boys seemed to want one thing from girls (well, apart from Gaara, but she decided he wasn't exactly normal, was he?). Just a few minutes after they met, he was already trying his sleazy lines on her……'You already are hot'…… come on, who'd buy that?

Crossly, she stomped off to her first period World History class. She got lost, again, but at least Gaara wasn't here to get stroppy this time. Eventually, she arrived late, and there were only a few seats left. She decided to sit next to the blonde girl from homeroom. Ino looked a little bored, resting her head in her hands and chewing gum.

"Hey," Temari said. Might as well make an effort, at a new school and everything, eh?

"Hey, I saw you getting your flirt on with Shikamaru earlier. I've never seen him move so fast to sit next to a girl," Ino said with a cheeky grin.

"Ugh, please don't talk to me about that freak. I mean, pervert, or what?" Temari sighed.

At this, Ino burst out laughing, "Ha ha ha, you think Shikamaru's a pervert?! Have you seen Kiba, or Naruto, or Kakashi or…..Jiraiya-sama? Shikamaru's about as unpervy as they come,"

"Really?" Temari asked. God, she'd had it lucky. If Shikamaru was unpervy, what were all the other guys going to be like. She shuddered and subconsciously pulled her skirt down over her thighs a little.

"Yeah, Shika's far too lazy to look twice at a girl, let alone try anything on. He calls all women troublesome, for God's sake," Ino said.

"Oh, so you know him, then?" Temari asked. Odd. It definitely seemed to her like Shikamaru had been hitting on her.

"Unfortunately, yeah. I've known him since pre-school. He and Choji are my best friends," she said.

"Sorry I called him a freak and a pervert, then. I hope you're not offended for him," laughed Temari.

"Nah, course not. I myself am partial to a little Shikamaru-bashing when the time is right," Ino said lightly, "So what did he do?"

"Well, everything was going fine until we started talking about my fan," Temari said, indicating a folded fan on the table in front of her, "He asked why I carried, so I said in case I got too hot in the desert. And then he says, 'you already are hot'. Come on, you can't tell me that's not low,"

Ino snorted with laughter, "Oh Shika. He hasn't a clue, has he?" She was still laughing by the time the teacher came in and shushed them.

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**Thanks for reading. Reviews welcome, but not necessary.**


	4. The Importance of Avoiding Kankurou

**Hey there readers, I'm back with an update. ****Thanks for reviewing, and keep them coming so I know where I'm going wrong or right as the case may be. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto characters. **

**Til next time! JJM X**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________**

**The**** Importance of Avoiding Kankurou At All Co****sts. **

A few hours later, Shikamaru mooched into his next class just as the last notes of the bell faded. He was sporting a bruised eye, which he was certain would get worse, thanks to his earlier encounter with Kankurou. Plus, this was a French lesson, Shikamaru's least favourite subject. He didn't see why he had to study French. It wasn't like he was going to bother to go all the way to France ever, was it? La belle Paris, city of love and all that. Uh, no thanks.

Needless to say, Shikamaru was feeling pretty fed up. High school lessons were even more boring than he'd thought they would be, he kept getting lost - which sucked, and even lunchtime was a drag: Ino was off chatting to all her new friends, and Choji had spilled tomato ketchup on Shikamaru's backpack. To make matters worse, Temari seemed to be in most of his classes. She was always sitting next to somebody else, and one time, Shikamaru was sure she'd actually laughed at him when she saw him. _Great_.

Ino was already sitting down when he arrived in French, and it looked like she'd saved him a seat. He plonked himself down next to her, and was surprised when she started sniggering.

"What?" he asked dully.

"What happened to you? Have you been fighting? You've got a black eye." she said between giggles.

"Oh, just some jerk in the locker room," Shikamaru dismissed. He wasn't about to tell Ino that his attempts at impressing a girl had ended up with her brother thumping him one.

Ino laughed some more, before turning to the slightly more painful topic of Temari.

"So, I saw you making a beeline towards that girl in homeroom, Temari, is it? She's pretty, isn't she?" she asked oh-so-casually. Shikamaru was suspicious.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied.

"Oh, so you think she's pretty, do you?" Ino asked, with a huge grin on her face. She was definitely enjoying this.

"Ino, where are you going with this?" Shikamaru asked, exasperated.

"Nowhere. I was just wondering," she replied and after a pause of a few seconds, continued, "You avoided my question."

"Did I?" Shikamaru replied, not sounding at all bothered, "Look, don't get your hopes up for pairing me off with some girl. She doesn't like me very much,"

"Only because you blurted out the wrong damn thing, you stupid, idle good-for-nothing idiot!" shouted Ino. She smacked him on the arm, which caused Shikamaru to wince.

"So you talked to her then," he muttered.

"Yes, and she said she'd heard Konoha boys only wanted one thing and that you just proved it. Apparently you made some sleazy comment about her being hot. I mean, what were you thinking, Shikamaru. Don't you listen to anything I ever tell you?" said Ino.

"It wasn't like that… I…" Shikamaru protested feebly. Ino sighed, cottoning on.

"You went and put your foot in your mouth, didn't you?" she berated, "For a genius, you're a total idiot sometimes,"

Shikamaru decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and argue back, so he sighed and leant back in his chair.

"Are you done?" he drawled.

"Uh…yeah," she concluded lamely, with a shrug, "She's pretty annoyed about that you know. You really should think before paying girls dodgy compliments,"

"What's the point," Shikamaru said lazily, "There's nothing I can do about it now,"

"Don't take that lazy attitude, mister. I think you'll find you can do something about it. I know you say all women are troublesome, but boy, you need more bossy influences in your life than just me and your mother. Temari'll be plenty bossy enough to handle you. You can go and apologise to her," Ino said threateningly.

"Sheesh, okay," Shikamaru said, mainly to shut her up. She was right, though: If he thought about it logically he could see he needed bossy people around.

And then, he decided to distract Ino, by asking her about her number one favourite topic - herself.

"So how's your day been?" he said.

"God, I thought you'd never ask. It's been pretty good, my teachers are nice and all my classmates are super-friendly. But best of all, I have a date," Ino said gleefully.

Shikamaru knew Ino was a bit of a flirt, but even he was surprised, "A date? Already? So who's the unlucky fellow?"

"Well, he's in my chemistry class, and he's very sweet and funny. Bit of a rebel and a smooth-talker, but a very honourable one at that. He was telling me about how he rescued his sister from the clutches of some pervert earlier, so he obviously respects women. He's nice to look at, too, despite having ...um…original clothing choices. And make-up choices. Well, it's not really make-up, it's war-paint. But still."

"You're dating a guy in make-up?" Shikamaru asked with a snort. Wait a second…guy in make-up? Why did that ring a bell?

"So….uh….what's this guy's name, then?" he asked, pretending to be casual. He did not like what his gut instinct was telling him.

"Kankurou," Ino said simply. Shikamaru flipped the desk over in shock.

"No. You absolutely cannot be seriously thinking about going on a date with Kankurou no Sabuka!" he half-yelled - about as animated as a lazy guy can get.

"And why not," Ino replied, tossing her long blonde hair, "You're not jealous, are you?"

"No! I just think you can do a lot better, that's all. Kankurou's a total jerk," Shikamaru said, but was surprised to see Ino laughing hysterically next to him.

"I know what this is about. You're the pervert he tried to beat up, aren't you?" Ino asked with a knowing smirk.

Great. Just great. First day of high school and he was already hating it. He'd met a nice girl, tried to be nice to her and ended up being punched by her brother. Who just so happened to have a date with the girl who might as well be Shikamaru's sister. Who found this situation hilarious, but was agreeing to help Shikamaru sort himself out, despite still going on the date with Temari's jerk brother number 1.

"Great. Why not make it a double date," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"What a brilliant idea!" Ino gushed, "Wait till I see Temari. And you need to apologise to her. And probably to Kankurou as well. Let me tell you, he looked a darn sight worse for wear than you after your little skirmish,"

"Actually, that was Psychotic Sabuka number two, Gaara who did most of Kankurou's injuries," Shikamaru pointed out.

"That's not very brotherly. You'd think Gaara would defend Temari's honour, rather than jump on poor Kanky like that," Ino said, pouting.

"Well, I'm glad Gaara didn't beat me up too. A girl with two psychotic, violent brothers would be far too troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. He leant back in his chair and continued, with deadly sarcasm, "Hey, do you reckon Gaara would like to come on our double date?"

"Awh, that's a lovely thought, Shikamaru," Ino said gleefully, "But who would he go with? Who's a good match for Gaara?"

She thought for a bit, before an evil smirk graced her pretty features, "Someone violent, occasionally out of control…. I know just the person - they've even got pretty similar hair colours. Forehead!"

Shikamaru facedesked.


	5. The Importance of Grovelling

**Sorry for not updating this in forever! I had the file on my computer and kind of forgot about it.**

**Enjoy! **

**

* * *

****The Importance of Grovelling**

A few days later, Shikamaru had eventually got tired of Ino's near-constant nagging at him to apologise to Temari. She'd even phoned up his mum to tell her all about Shikamaru's utter failure in the romance department and how totally useless he was. Yoshino Nara loved Ino and fully agreed with whatever she had to say on the subject of her son, so Shikamaru had had to put up with double doses of naggage. It was exhausting just listening to them. Women were all so troublesome.

So there he was, turning up at Temari's house to attempt to make amends. He noticed his palms were sweating as he walked up the long driveway, towards what was best described as a mansion. He never got nervous about anything and usually dealt with stuff in his chilled-out way, but today he was bricking it. Ino had told him he daren't even think about showing his face in Konoha ever again if he didn't manage to successfully apologise for being an insensitive idiot and manage to convince Temari to go on a date with him.

As he rang the doorbell, he sincerely hoped that Kankurou would be out doing whatever it was assholes like him did and would not punch him again. His wish was granted, because he got Gaara, who looked just as sulky and psychotic as usual.

"Yes?" he asked rudely. Shikamaru could see why Ino thought he would be a good match for Sakura, who was also violent to the point of being antisocial.

"Uh…is Temari in?" Shikamaru asked, still hoping the answer was no.

Gaara called her and walked away from the door without saying anything else. Shikamaru didn't know what to do next. Should he follow Gaara? He didn't want to risk pissing any of the Sabukas off by coming in uninvited, so he compromised by hovering rather lamely at the threshold. He saw Temari walking down the stairs towards him. God, she looked hot - he thought, her long legs looked good in the tight jeans she had on. Shikamaru mentally slapped himself. He couldn't think like that, otherwise he'd put his foot in it. Again. As she laid eyes on him, Shikamaru worried about his appearance for the first time in his life. Did he look scruffy? (Yes). Why was it that he turned into a total idiot around Temari?

"Are you going to come in, or am I going to have to come to you, scruffbag?" asked Temari.

"Oh…erm…sorry," he said awkwardly, tripping over the doormat as he stepped inside. Temari stared at him and the silence grew. He looked round the hallway, which was decorated in an expensive-looking but tasteful style.

"Uh…nice…. wallpaper," he said, waving his hand in the air to give the impression of casualness. Temari raised an eyebrow.

"Shikamaru, did you really come all the way over here to compliment me on my taste in interior design?" she said. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned, which if anything, made her look more attractive in Shikamaru's eyes.

"Um…I guess not," he said awkwardly. Then, he remembered what he was supposed to say. Ino and his mother had written him a nice speech and had forced him to practise it.

"I'm sorry I'm a complete and utter idiot for putting my foot in my mouth. I've never had much success with girls before, because I've never listened to Ino Yamanaka's excellent advice, so I tend to blurt things out without actually thinking about them. I hope I have not offended you with my highly inappropriate comments, and I assure you I am not only after one thing. Although I obviously think you are very pretty, I also value your personality. I hope you can forgive my thoughtlessness and I would very much like to make it up to you this Friday evening," he mumbled, word perfect.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Temari replied with a grin. Shikamaru was certain she had, but she forced him to repeat it twice anyway and her grin only got wider.

"Thanks for that, Shikamaru. Are you asking me out?" she said, still grinning.  
"Uh…yeah…I guess I am," Shikamaru replied, "Only if you want to though,"  
"And why would I want to do that?" Temari asked.  
Shit, thought Shikamaru. He had no idea how to answer that question.  
"Umm, because….because….well…I…..I mean, uh," he concluded lamely.

"Despite all your negative qualities, like laziness, inappropriateness and scruffiness, I do want to," she said. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief but Temari hadn't finished, "On condition that you are polite, charming, make intelligent conversation, do not complain, are dressed suitably, are not lazy or scruffy, treat a woman well, and most importantly are on time,"  
"Oh God," sighed Shikamaru. He hoped he was being inconspicuous, but Temari heard.  
"But if that's too much to ask, you could just try being yourself," she said with a smile, "And try not to fight with my brothers,"

Oh crap, thought Shikamaru, he'd forgotten about the triple date. Ino, Kankurou, Gaara and Sakura would be coming too, if Gaara and Sakura could be persuaded to date one another.

"So where would you like to go?" Shikamaru asked politely.  
"The Blue Lounge café. You can pick me up at half seven," she said simply, "Thank you for the visit,"  
"Okay, no problem. Well…I ..uh, best be off then," Shikamaru said and backed out the door as quickly as possible, before she had chance to change her mind.

* * *

As agreed, Shikamaru went to meet up with Ino later. As he rolled through the streets away from Temari's house on his skateboard, he still couldn't believe she had actually agreed to go on a date with him. True, there were conditions, but we could work round those, Shikamaru thought.

As he headed up to Ino's house, he remembered how nervous he had felt going to Temari's. He felt none of those nerves here, as he chucked his skateboard on the lawn. It was like coming to his second home. It was true, Ino was basically like a sister to him: he'd known her all his life, and they'd never had any feelings for each other. They never discussed it, but Shikamaru knew Ino could do better than him anyway. Shame Sasuke didn't seem to agree. Although recently, Shikamaru noticed, Sasuke got far less of a mention in their conversations.

The front door was answered by Ino's brother, who was a senior at Konoha High School. His trademark blond ponytail was in place and he was wearing an uncharacteristically broad grin.

"Hey Deidara," Shikamaru greeted, and Deidara clapped him on the back, still looking incredibly pleased with himself.

Ino appeared from behind him and Shikamaru was reminded once again of the family similarity between the siblings.  
"He's just scored himself a date with Hana Inuzuka. You know, Kiba's sister - the one who's obsessed with dogs. So he's been grinning his head off all afternoon, the jammy bastard," Ino said.  
"Congratulations, mate," Shikamaru said, grinning. Hana Inuzuka was generally regarded as one of the hottest girls in the senior year.

"Well, I heard about you and Temari, you big idiot. You really put your foot in that one, didn't you?" Deidara replied, "And she's Sasori's cousin, isn't she? You better watch he doesn't come and hunt you down, huh?"  
Shikamaru hadn't realised that Temari was related to Sasori as well as Gaara and Kankurou. Sasori was one of Konoha's most renowned psychopaths, and coincidentally, one of Deidara's best friends. That took the total number of psychotic male relatives Temari had to three and counting. Shikamaru decided he had really better not piss her off.

"Oh yeah, how is Sasori doing, I haven't seen him for a while?" Ino asked, "Is he still dating what's-her-name?"  
"Nope, Sasori's strictly boys only, huh," said Deidara, while Ino and Shikamaru gasped in shock. Neither of them thought he came off as particularly gay, although it has to be said Shikamaru's gaydar wasn't very good.

"Well, you'd better tell me what happened with Temari, then," Ino said, guiding Shikamaru away from Deidara and directing him to her bedroom, which was - in Shikamaru's eyes - decorated in a near-sickening combination of pink and purple. Chouji was sitting on the purple fluffy rug, munching on a family-sized pack of barbeque chips.

"She agreed to go on a date with me," Shikamaru said, after greeting Chouji and helping himself to a fistful of potato chips, for which he got a punch, "But I don't think I'm totally forgiven yet,"  
"No, you wouldn't be. Temari's not exactly the type to forgive and forget," Ino said, "Who wants to help me convince Gaara and Sakura?"  
"Shotgun not me!" Shikamaru and Chouji said in unison, although Chouji's reply came out a little muffled because he'd just shoved a handful of chips into his mouth.

"I'm not even going on this date, so I don't see why I should. Besides, I've got work in half an hour, and if I know Sakura at all, it'll take more than half an hour to convince her to go out with Gaara," said Chouji.  
"It's a shame we can't include you, Cho. Is there a girl you like?" Ino asked, with a winning grin.  
"I'm not saying anything. Now I'm off to work. Later, guys," Chouji slung his bag over his shoulder and left. Unsurprisingly, he worked in a restaurant, where he was able to help himself to all the dishes in the noble name of 'tasting'. If you asked around, both Naruto and Chouji would give Ichiraku's a rave review: Naruto because he spent all his time eating there, and Chouji because he worked there.

"Guess it's just me and you, Shika," Ino sighed. She reached for a cell phone and dialled Sakura's number.  
"Hey Sakura. Want to come round?" she said, all sugary-sweet down the phone. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Shikamaru was sent to answer it, with his politest face on. The pinkette was in a surprisingly good mood, but Shikamaru was still wary of being punched.

"Hi Ino," she chirped, as Shikamaru led her into the pink and purple hell. "So, you've got some good news for me?" Sakura continued, flopping down on the bed next to Ino.  
"Sure have," Ino replied, "What do you think of Gaara Sabuka?"  
"The redhead? He's alright, I guess. He's in my art class," Sakura said, surprised.  
"Great. How do you fancy going on a date with him?" Ino grinned.  
"What?" Sakura was so shocked she almost choked. Shikamaru subtly tried to move out of her punching distance but only succeeded in impaling his foot on one of Ino's discarded stilettos.

"ARGH! HOLY CRAP!" he yelled, hopping manically round the room, "I mean….uh…Gaara's a very nice guy, yeah. He stopped me from getting beaten up on the first day of high school." Yes, but he did knock seven bells out of his own brother instead, Shikamaru thought. Ino grinned at him, clearly she was impressed that he was trying to convince Sakura. After about two hours of listing Gaara's good qualities: he was 'quiet' and 'a good listener' according to Ino (more like 'antisocial', thought Shikamaru), he was 'an individual' (more like a 'weirdo'), he was 'misunderstood' and 'defensive' ('violent' and 'psychotic'), not to mention he was 'hot' (Shikamaru chose not to comment on this one), and reassuring Sakura that this was a triple date, so she wouldn't be alone with Gaara, she eventually agreed.

"Fine," she pouted, "But we're going to The Orangerie at half seven on Friday. I get to choose the place, seeing as I didn't get to choose my date." Eventually, after much complaining about how unsuitable she and Gaara were for each other, Sakura left and Shikamaru and Ino breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Do you even know where The Orangerie is, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.  
"Nope. But I can see where we might have a problem. Temari wanted to go to The Blue Lounge, you know, that café," he replied.  
"Well, we'll go there then. Sakura can get stuffed," Ino said, but even she sounded unsure. It was hard to say who would be worse when angry: Sakura or Temari. Shikamaru winced at the thought.

As he lazily skated home, he thought Sasori had the right idea. Were it not for his crush on Temari and his lack of attraction to men, he would consider being gay. He had been right all along. Women were _far_ too troublesome.


End file.
